Hotels in the future – more digital services need easier access

Friday, September 9th, 2011 Karen Ambrose Hickey, Editor

In Hotels of the Future Unwired for Guest Convenience, author Zach Glenn of Helm Hotels Group, notes:

“Advanced digital information services will soon be as common as televisions and comfortable beds in the hotel of the future… Secure, reliable, and scalable Wi-Fi connections are the foundation for digital information services.”

He cites the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s Mobile Access 2010 report. But, in our Hospitality Report for 2010, we found that 95 percent of business travelers care if there is Wi-Fi or a wired connection in a hotel, and a poor hotel Wi-Fi experience influences 42% percent of business travelers on whether they re-book that specific hotel. Connectivity for the business traveler is a must-have, as well as ease of access.

My earlier post, cited the continued rise of tablet sales. As tablets are Wi-Fi enabled, and great for content consumption, I can see the tired business traveler wanting to quickly, seamlessly link into the Wi-Fi (probably with more than one device), and making a dinner reservation, catching up on email before dinner, and maybe shopping for a gift, setting the alarm and setting the lights.

All from the comfort of the command deck…I mean, “chair.”

Photo credit: CC 2.0 via fernashes

Tags: hospitality, iPad, tablet